"Thirteen ways of looking at a blackbird" by Wallace Stevens is a poem about what it means to really know something. In this poem, Stevens shows this connection by writing a first person poem about a poet's observation and contemplation's when viewing a blackbird. He does this by making each stanza an explanation of a new way he has perceived this blackbird. First, he writes about his physical perception of the blackbird as an observer. Then, he writes about the his mental processes during this time. These are as the thoughts and perceptions of the blackbird itself, as what it must be like to be that bird. By the end, he has concluded that by seeing this blackbird, a connection has been made and he now knows the blackbird has becomes a part of him.

In the first stanza, he focuses on the eye of the blackbird as an outside observer. This symbolizes the thoughts and the consciousness of the blackbird. It is also a transition from the observer's perception to the blackbird's perception. In the second stanza, Stevens goes on to say that he was of "three minds, Like a tree, In which there are three blackbirds." This was the first time he makes the connection between seeing the blackbird and him himself metaphorically being the blackbird. He makes this connection even more clear in the fourth stanza when he says that "A man and a woman Are one. A man and a woman and a blackbird are one." In the sixth stanza he goes back to being the poet observer as he watches the blackbird fly by his icy window. Again in the next stanza he goes back to the point of view of the blackbird wondering why the men of Haddam only imagine golden birds instead of realizing the value of the common blackbird. At this time, he makes the connection that in seeing and knowing the blackbird it becomes a part of himself. When he says in the eighth stanza "I know noble accents And lucid, inescapable rhythms; But I know, too, That the blackbird is...

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...﻿Mariah Santos
February 25th 2014
AP Language and Composition - Period 4
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
Stanza I
3. a. Ominous - "only moving thing" is an eye.
b. Detail - contrast of silent, white snow, and moving black eye.
c. Eye is all seeing.
Stanza II
3. a. Torn: targets the "three" choices like with the different "three minds" and "three blackbirds"
b. Detail - Compares and contrasts "three minds" and "three blackbirds" then in a way ties it to one thing, "a tree."
c. Even though humans think of things with two sides, the tree has three sides the three blackbirds with individual thoughts that differ but are somehow alike.
Stanza III
3. a. Playful - The blackbird "whirling" in the autumn winds, like a child during fall.
b. Detail - The blackbird's act of flight is like a "pantomime" or performance.
c. Blackbird enjoying the autumn winds, and contributing to its performance.
Stanza IV
3.a. Unity - "are one" combining man, woman, and the blackbird.
b. Repetition: "A man and a woman. Are one. A man and a woman and a blackbird are one."
c. Even in unity the blackbird is within and is unified within the living.
Stanza V
3.a. Sarcastic - "inflections" are changes in tone of voice, and "innuendoes" are suggestions.
b. Contrasts "inflections" and "innuendoes." Also,...

...The title of Wallace Stevens poem, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird," is misleading, because he does not only offer thirteen ways of looking at blackbird, but the poem offers us many insights on how humans think. "Blackbird", written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, has many similarities with "Thirteen Ways of Looking at A Blackbird" other than just their titles. They use many poetic conventions to explain their poem's ideas, both writers use a blackbird to compare to humans and human nature, and imagery plays a big role in getting across their points.
Sometimes poets use different conventions to give the poem a better "flow." "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird", by Wallace Stevens uses assonance to make the poem have a better sound or to give it a better "flow." Assonance is the repetition of vowels with different consonants. An example is stanza three of Steven's poem:
The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds.
It was a small part of the pantomime.
In the first line, "i" is repeated four times in blackbird, whirled, in, and winds. In the second line, "a" is also repeated four times in was, small, part, and pantomime. McCartney's and Lennon's song "Blackbird" uses anaphoras, which are repeated phrases at the beginning...

...﻿ 13ways of looking at a blackbird
This poem consists of thirteen parts. Each section could exist by itself as a poem but is used only as part of a whole.
The poem is Oriental in nature and approach. The title suggests a series of Eastern prints in which the blackbird is the subject. The bird and natural imagery in this poem are also used often in Oriental poetry. The terseness of speech, in which lines are pared down to the essential words, the ideas captured in short concise stanzas, suggest Japanese haiku; and the way which the structure becomes formal through the rise of conversational tone and personal observation contributes to giving the poem an Eastern style.
The first section begins with a landscape in which there is a blackbird. This appears to be a description of an Oriental print with its use of the landscape and the twenty snowy mountains being enveloped in snow. But there is movement; the eye of the blackbird is wandering over the scene. This stanza sets the stark feeling that permeates the rest of the poem, the feeling of death and nothingness and the clash of imagination versus reality that exists in most of Stevens poetry. Stevens believes the self/imagination is separated from the world/ reality. To be separated causes dismay because the self can never know the real world, but also can be a great delight. Through the division...

...DiffDifferent Ways of Looking at Food
The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, attempts to figure out how such a simple question as, “What should we have for dinner?” (Pollan 1), turned out to be so complicated such that we need investigative journalists to tell us what is in our food. To do so, he went on a journey to follow all three food chains that sustain us today: the industrial, the organic, and the hunter-gatherer back to their origins. Although these journeys may have led to very different paths, there was one underlying theme that linked them all: the tension between logic of nature and industry. For every step industrialization takes, natural forces push it back to balance it out. Even so, industrialization has found a way to keep up with nature’s work by breaking through its cycle in order to thrive and profit. The work of industry is undeniably compelling. The Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) alone has made meat so cheap and abundant that most American families can afford to eat it every meal. Industry makes this happen by feeding cows and steers large amounts of cheap federally subsidized corn, which the cows never evolved to eat. The result of this poor diet is simply a hoard of sick cows due to the acidity the corn produces in their stomachs. To counteract this problem, industries turned to antibiotics. Medicines that were created to treat diseases are now a staple ingredient in a cows’ fodder, as an...

...“At the end of Look Both Ways, the film-maker convinces viewers that the characters are capable of looking at their lives in different ways.” Do you agree?
In the film Look Both Ways, director Sarah Watt explores the theme that perspective can determine experience in life. The film demonstrates that life is an unscripted event where no one knows the final outcome and we can often become overwhelmed by how seemingly little control we exert over the navigation of our lives By using main characters Nick, Meryl and Andy, she suggests that changing a person’s outlook on life can enrich that person and help overcoming problems. Nick learnt that cancer does not necessarily implicate death, Meryl freed herself from her fears by realising risks must be taken. Andy became aware of the value of life and those around him. The film suggests that to find fulfillment in life we must learn to think in new ways, to look at situations from different angles.
Nick changes his perspective and overcomes his preoccupation with death. Nick uses his camera as a barrier between him and the death and suffering in the world. He then views the images he took on the computer screen, of poverty, disease, terrorism, further alienating him from reality. However when he is diagnosed with cancer he changes this view, now that death and suffering applies to himself. Nick sees his life 'flash before his eyes.' As his fears begin to...

...Case Study:
Looking the Other Way
Both chief executive and board ignore their accountability Now when you turn on channel 12, there is only snow. Where there used to be documentaries, short films by budding directors, coverage of local cultural events, and public service announcements, there is nothing. Viewers have no idea what happened. The station manager can't be reached. Board members change the subject if it comes up. Since its creation eight years ago, WBJR, channel 12, had experienced ups and downs. Channel 12 was the dream of Isabel Max, who wanted to create a progressive venue for broadcasting that would serve the public. Isabel wanted WBJR to be for everyone, like public access TV, but more polished and professional. She wanted her station to have a reputation for solid educational and innovative content, but less prescriptive than traditional public television networks. She wanted to carve a niche in broadcasting where people concerned about their world could come for thought-provoking, refreshing content. A lofty and admirable goal, agreed many supporters. Isabel recruited a board that included veteran broadcasters, leaders from across the nonprofit arena, and a few friends who had started their own businesses as well. The board was excited by Isabel's vision and extremely encouraging. Isabel worked energetically toward her goal of providing high-quality programming, allowing little time to think about financial solvency,...

..."Blackbird"
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.
Blackbird fly Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
Blackbird flyBlackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
"Blackbird"
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.
Blackbird fly Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
Blackbird fly Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only...

...Sixteen year old Miles’ twin passions are reading biographies and collecting the last words of the famous. Deciding to search for, in the last words of the great Francois Rabelais, the ‘great perhaps’, Miles leaves his family in Florida and moves to Alabama to complete his ﬁnal two years of school at Culver Creek Preparatory School. Miles is befriended by his gifted roommate, Chip, who prefers the name “The Colonel”, and included in the Colonel’s group of friends, among them Alaska, vibrant, charismatic and dynamic, but also deeply depressed. Alaska is not only brilliant at devising pranks, but drinks and has sexual intercourse. When Miles falls for (and lusts after) Alaska, she becomes critical to his story. Slowly the reader builds a picture of the main characters as each reveals their story. When Alaska dies in a car crash, her favorite last line from Simon Bolivar, “How will I ever get out of this labyrinth?” takes on a poignant meaning. The story changes as Miles and the Colonel come to terms with the loss of a friend who was central to their lives. Only by discovering the real cause of Alaska’s death can they overcome their guilt at surviving her.
John Green’s masterpiece revolves around a night that plays a central role and an important part in this whole young adult fiction. This can be seen as the book starts at 136 days before a particular moment in the book, and as the countdown goes on, building up the suspense throughout till the last page of the book....